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Concerns over Patrick plan to shelter illegal-immigrant children

By Chelsea Feinstein, cfeinstein@lowellsun.com

Updated:
07/19/2014 06:36:20 AM EDT

LOWELL -- An announcement from Gov. Deval Patrick Friday morning that Massachusetts will be sheltering undocumented immigrant children who have crossed the country's border drew both criticism and praise from local officials. But many said the plan raised more questions than it answered.

Patrick said that as many as 1,000 children from Central America will be housed at either Joint Base Cape Cod in Bourne or Westover Air Base in Chicopee while they are processed by immigration officials for either deportation, reunification or asylum.

The average stay for children at the bases, Patrick said, will be about 35 days, but the space will be available for up to four months.

Many local officials said they had been informed about the decision by phone calls or emails Friday morning from the Executive Office of Public Safety, but were still looking for answers on what would happen to the children when they leave the temporary shelters.

"Obviously, the plight of children being in a foreign country, anybody would have empathy, but as an elected official I'm greatly concerned about what the implications are and what policy we're setting here," said state Sen. Eileen Donoghue, D-Lowell.

Although Patrick said the federal government will pay all expenses to shelter the children, Donoghue and others questioned who would bear the cost if the children stay in Massachusetts for the long term, and whether cities such as Lowell would eventually be called on to house them.

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"The city of Lowell has always opened its arms to newcomers to this country, and that comes with quite a responsibility and a cost," Donoghue said.

Mayor Rodney Elliott said that while Lowell has a strong tradition of welcoming immigrants, he is concerned that children staying in the long term, and the possibility that some could end up in the Lowell school system, could push the school district past its capacity.

"We clearly do this already, but this is a resource issue, it's a planning issue and at this point we are stretched so thin," Elliott said.

Elliott has filed a motion for Tuesday's City Council meeting requesting that the city's chief financial officer and the superintendent of schools report on the cost of educating newcomers in Lowell Public Schools.

Those who opposed the decision said they too are concerned about the long-term costs of welcoming illegal-immigrant children into the state.

State Rep. Marc Lombardo, R-Billerica, said Massachusetts has already allowed immigrants to take advantage of too many state resources. If the children being brought to Massachusetts for the long term, he said, cities would not be able to handle the strain.

"I think it's bad public policy for the commonwealth of Massachusetts to be aiding and abetting illegal immigration to the United States of America and further showing that Massachusetts is a sanctuary state to illegal immigrants," Lombardo said.

He said his office has been inundated with calls from residents who are angry about the decision.

"People are outraged. People want the United States to be a country of rules and laws and they're, quite frankly, sick and tired of paying the way for illegal immigrants to come in and take advantage of the welfare system in Massachusetts," Lombardo said.

State Rep. David Nangle, D-Lowell, said that he wants to know whether the federal government will continue to pay for the children to be housed and educated if they stay in Massachusetts long-term, and if other states are doing their fair share to help with the problem.

"I feel that Massachusetts already does help. I feel that we already do more than our fair share of other states. We're busting at the seams and financially it's a very difficult situation," Nangle said.

"Everybody is struggling to make ends meet and I think we need to address what we already have here in Massachusetts and help out the needy that are already here," he added.

State Rep. James Miceli, D-Wilmington, railed against the governor's decision, saying it will cost Massachusetts taxpayers money for years to come.

"This will not go away and we are fools to buy into this," Miceli said. "The economy isn't flourishing, people are having a hard time, we don't have room and we don't have an obligation to clean up someone else's mess."

Others spoke in strong support of Patrick's decision, saying Massachusetts has the means to temporarily house the children.

"I think Massachusetts is a compassionate state and we're talking about children here that have probably almost always experienced poverty and violence and really dire situations in their native countries," said state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton. "I think it's reasonable for the state to provide a safe place for those children to have shelter and support while they go through the federal immigration process."

State Rep. Jennifer Benson, D-Lunenburg, called the issue a "humanitarian crisis" that needed to be addressed.

"This is our chance to step up to the plate and do the right thing," Benson said.

"These aren't animals, they are children, and we should be concerned, all of us, that they are treated humanely and safely, and hopefully we can expedite this process and get them reunited with their families," Benson said.

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